Sydney Hosts Final Australian WEG Team Selection Opportunity, Australian Para Rider Lead FEI Ranking

Australia

Australia's most competitive para dressage riders met at the 2026 CPEDI Sydney on 13 - 15 June 2026 as the event is the final Australian-based selection opportunity for the 2026 FEI Para Dressage World Championships in Aachen, Germany.

The CPEDI is part of the national level Hawkesbury Dressage Festival at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre.

CPEDI Sydney

To be considered for Australian WEG team selection para combinations must have scored 67% and more at two CPEDI3* events in the Grand Prix A or B tests and have competed in no less than two CPEDI3* events between 1 January 2026 and 15 June 2026.

A para dressage team must consist of at least one Grade I combination, which includes the most physically impaired riders. In Australia one Grade I combination competed in Sydney: Kylie Christian aboard the Ivan Carlos on a qualifying score of 67.222%; this combination has also already fulfilled the Competition Criteria.

Kylie's Ivan Carlos is a 2013 born Dutch warmblood by Ampere out of Wiecarla (by Jazz x Iroko). He was competed internationally by British based Irish rider Martha Jobling-Purser before selling to Christian in the spring of 2024. The 49-year old Kylie, who was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson's at 45, trains with Carol Ross.

View the complete scores of the 2026 CPEDI Sydney here.

FEI World Ranking

The latest FEI World Rankings at the start of June 2026 have delivered outstanding results for Australian para dressage, with four athletes ranked within the top ten of their respective Grades.

Lisa Martin at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris

Leading the way is Lisa Martin, who holds the world number one position in Grade 5. Lisa is the first Australian para-athlete to achieve a number one FEI world ranking. Martin did not show in the final WEG team selection trial in Sydney with her 9-year old Hanoverian Vilaggio (by Vilancio x Don Romantic). She already got her qualification scores at the CPEDI's in Bawley Point and Boneo.

Also in Grade 5, Mietta Innes-Irons is ranked sixth in the world. In Grade 2, Bridget Murphy has secured the world number six ranking, while Claire Graham rounds out Australia’s top ten representatives at tenth in Grade 3. Maddison Cooke sits just outside the top ten, ranked 11th in Grade 2.

Eight Australian athletes feature in the top 100 across all Grades: Lisa Martin (10th), Bridget Murphy (29th), Mietta Innes-Irons (30th), Claire Graham (38th), Helen Batson (56th), Maddison Cooke (68th), Brooke Neville (96th) and Stuart Drysdale (100th). Australia is currently ranked fifth in the world in the team standings.

"These results are a testament to the dedication, talent and hard work of Australia’s para dressage athletes and the wider support teams behind them," the Australian federation posted.

Photos © private - Dirk Caremans (top photo: Australian Grade I rider Kylie Christian won the Australian Para Championships in her grade earlier this spring at Boneo Park)